Reform of civil justice a priority says Renzi

EU report blasted snail-paced system

(ANSA) - Rome, March 19 - Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said
Wednesday reforming Italy's civil-justice system was a priority
after the latest European Union report on snail-paced procedures
that discourage foreign investment.

"The data provided by the EU are not figures from a bad
witch but figures (showing) our weakness," he said.

On Monday a report from the EU justice commissioner said
Italy is one of the slowest countries in the EU in terms of the
number of outstanding civil and commercial court cases waiting
for their day in court, although improvement in some areas have
been made.

Based on 2012 figures, 5.5 cases were pending per hundred
Italians, down from 2010 figures of six outstanding cases per
hundred inhabitants, according to the EU assessment.

The average length of wait for judicial action on a case in
2012 was about 600 days - up from about 500 days in 2010, the
report said.

According to the report, only Croatia and Greece showed
worse results, although authors of the report said that data was
incomplete from several countries, including Cyprus, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Ireland, the Netherlands and Great Britain.

The EC said the report is designed "to promote the quality,
independence and efficiency of justice systems in the European
Union".